Lawmakers on Tuesday expressed incredulity at the findings in the report of the preliminary census, and feared that the count, which was much less than the actual figure, would threaten the food security of a considerable section of the population.
They said that since all the plans for development and food procurement would be based on the census findings, the people who had not been counted would not be included in the plans and programmes, leading to multifarious problems.
Many of the lawmakers said that their families had not been counted as no enumerator had gone to their homes. They also questioned the expertise of the enumerators. If the primary input is faulty, the output is bound to be faulty, they said.
The lawmakers came up with their views at a roundtable discussion on 'Budget allocation to enhance population and family planning programmes in Bangladesh' in the Oath Room of Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban. The programme was arranged by the Involvement of Parliamentarians in Reproductive Health, Rights, Gender Issues and Development and the UN Population Fund.
The preliminary results of the Fifth Population and Household Census, released on Saturday, showed that Bangladesh's population has reached 142.319 million, with a male-female ratio of 100.3:100. Of the total population, 71.255 million are male and 71.064 million are female.
Lawmaker SK Abu Bakr said that many international bodies were saying that Bangladesh's population was much higher than the report showed. 'The CIA of the United States says that Bangladesh's population is 15 crore 85 lakh. Many of the general people here think that the population has crossed the 20 crore mark,' he said.
'We will have to devise plans as per the findings of the report. So, if a significant number of people remain out of the count, who will take their responsibility?' he questioned. 'How will there be food security if the count does not reveal the actual figure?'
Lawmaker Tarana Halim straightaway rejected the count. 'It cannot be right. No enumerator went to my house,' she said.
Bakr also echoed her, saying the enumerators went the ground floor of the five-storied building in which he resides. 'The enumerator who went to my house couldn't even write. I had to fill up the form on my own,' he added.
Lawmaker M Shahriyar Alam said that after each census it was found that population had increased proportionately. 'This time it didn't, which is not credible.'
Acting director general of the Directorate of Family Planning, Ganesh Chandra Sarkar, said that family planning does not mean only distribution of contraceptives. It has to take a holistic approach. So, the lawmakers need to be more aware of the issues concerned, he said.
Additional secretary of the disaster management ministry, Abdul Quayum, said that increasing the budget allocation to the population control and family planning sector should not be considered as expenditure but as investment, as increase in population has a drastic impact on every sector.
Lawmakers Mujibul Haque, Abu Zahir, Shah Zikrul Ahmed, Shahin Monowara Huq, Amanullah, Murad Hasan, Narayan Chandra Chanda, Mamtaz Begum, Noor-e-Hasna Chowdhury and Safiya Khatun also took part in discussion.
The keynote paper was presented by MA Mumin, a consultant of the Asian Development Bank. Parliament secretary Ashfaq Hamid, deputy chief of UNFPA mission in Dhaka Yuki Suehiro and the project director of IPDGD Wahidul Islam Khan were also present at the discussion.
Source : New Age
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